Mike Conley, 37, is a veteran of 18 NBA seasons. Conley is revered among players, one of the most respected teammates of his time. He has taken countless young players under his wing and helped show them the way, and on Saturday night, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said that Conley has "changed our franchise enormously" with his leadership on and off the floor.
As Finch explained, Conley does not lead with elaborate speeches or by turning up the volume, he does it by giving "sage advice" and providing an example of how every player should work and prepare. Last month, Sixers point guard Jared Butler spoke about how valuable of an experience it was for him to be Conley's teammate as a rookie with the Utah Jazz. Sitting in the visitor's locker room of the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, Conley lit up when asked about Butler, now a fourth-year point guard trying to find his way with the Sixers. Butler is not just another young former teammate to Conley.
"Jared, honestly, he's one of my favorite people," Conley said. "He's like a sponge, you know? He is a guy that really wanted to know everything about everything off the court: what to eat, how to take care of your body, what to do at night when you sleep, [how many] hours to sleep, everything to see, even outside of basketball. So just a guy that's willing, wants to learn all of that at a young age, it was easy for me to want to help him, want to work out with him, want to compete with him, and I'm just happy that he's getting an opportunity here to show people what he can do."
Butler has been a member of the Sixers for two months, but the book on the 24-year-old point guard has been out since he was leading the Baylor Bears to a national championship in 2020-21. Butler is a throwback: a floor general who organizes his team and finds ways to engineer offense without outlier athleticism or absurd shot-making. He limits mistakes and controls the controllable. Butler is trying to prove that it this formula can still lead to wins in the NBA.
As Butler has bounced from organization to organization during his first four NBA seasons, many have questioned his ability to actually hold up as a rotation contributor at this level. He does not have good size or explosion, he is merely a decent shooter and can be taken advantage of in certain situations defensively. However, nobody has doubted Butler's ability to keep a team running with cohesion. And Butler has had a remarkable opportunity to exhibit that for the world since arriving in Philadelphia, as he serves as the point guard for a team filled with new faces amid constant shuffling of players on two-way contract and cycling of ones on 10-day contracts.
On more than a few occasions this year, Butler has met someone for the first time and shared an NBA court with them in the span of just a few hours. Even the worst NBA teams run incredibly advanced schemes on both ends of the floor. All of their players must be able to speak the same basketball language, and the Sixers have had to play most of their games over the last two months without that ability. It is often Butler who is trying to piece everything together.
"It's definitely been a challenge, but I try not to overthink it," Butler said last month. "I try not to think about all those variables you just listed off and just kind of keep my presence and my sense of aura to be calm and steady, and I think guys will feed off of that and then I think they'll follow suit."
It is no surprise that Butler — whose positivity remains despite a massive number of losses piling up in a season he has spent with the Sixers and Washington Wizards — views this situation not as a roadblock, but as a platform to show off how he can help an NBA team.
"Moments like these where you can kind of bring some law and order to the overall scheme and all the chaos is a skill in itself, and I feel like I'm one of those guys that brings poise and brings the stability overall for the team," Butler said. "So this is a great opportunity."
Butler was asked if that ability to set the tone for a group is something he has always had, or if it was an acquired skill.
"I’ve always been like that," Butler said. "I played quarterback in high school, point guard, so that role has always required me to be poised."
Can Butler provide a scouting report of his quarterbacking skillset? He smiles and obliges.
"70 percent throw, 30 percent run, just drop in the bucket, you know?"
As it turns out, there are plenty of parallels between playing quarterback and playing point guard. The two positions require much different physical actions but very similar mental and emotional responsibilities: making sure everyone is prepared and on the same page, reading an opposing defense and reacting accordingly, and setting the tone for a locker room. Butler takes those duties seriously on the hardwood, just as he did on the gridiron in his youth.
"It's probably just kind of who I am and then who I was in college and high school," Butler told PhillyVoice last month. "Definitely super positive and super encouraging. I try to be that way throughout the whole year."
Butler's time with the Sixers could very well extend beyond the last four games of the 2024-25 regular season, but even if it does not, the relationship has already proven to be mutually beneficial. The Sixers have given Butler more runway to show off his skillset than any NBA team ever has.
"It's been fantastic," Butler said. "I [think people underestimate] it's been four years and it's my first time getting a straight-up game where I know I'm going to play… It's a blessing and I'm just glad I'm healthy."
Meanwhile, Butler has given the Sixers on-court stability and a traditional point guard who has been able to help out the youngest players on the team. The Sixers' record with Butler is horrid given the sheer manpower disadvantages they are working at, but their player development has not been harmed by those circumstances. Take rookie center Adem Bona, who has developed a strong rapport with Butler as a pick-and-roll partner in recent weeks. Bona might not be thriving as a rolling big if he did not have a seasoned ball-handler working with him.
"I think he helps me and helps the team," Bona said last month. "Just a different type of offense he brings."
Last month, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse spoke about the importance of Butler's voice, whether it be used on the floor, during timeout huddles or in the locker room at halftime. Butler's ability to communicate in a productive manner is a real asset, and when Butler is asked about his budding partnership with Bona, the mentality behind it becomes evident.
"The battle is getting the guy to believe that you're looking for him every time he picks and rolls," Butler said. "If he knows that I'm going to look for him on the pick-and-roll, that's going to get him to come set the screen, be forceful, hit the guy. So I think that's the hardest part, is him knowing that I'm looking for him every single time, like, I want to throw the lob."
Jared Butler connected with Adem Bona on two alley-oops in Saturday night's game vs. Miami: https://t.co/35HqRgkkBe pic.twitter.com/4D85X4clpv
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 30, 2025
Butler has a team option in his contract for 2025-26 projected to be worth $2.3 million; the Sixers could very well decline it even if they have genuine interest in bringing him back. Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain figure to be in line for the Sixers' primary point guard duties next season and perhaps for many more to come, but perhaps Butler can slot in as a third-string point guard who can fill in whenever needed and change the pace in smaller lineups if necessary.
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As Butler reaches a career crossroads of sorts in the summer ahead, he will undoubtedly rely on Conley for the same guidance he received in Utah and still benefits from today. Conley said the two still text "all the time," including just a few weeks ago when Butler was going through a shooting slump.
Conley's message to Butler was one filled with affirmation.
"Stay confident, bro. You're a great shooter, you're a great player. Just keep going," Conley recalled telling Butler before remarking about the pride he takes in their continued bond. "It's cool to have that relationship still, even to this day, even though we've been on multiple teams since we were last together."
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